Monday, July 5, 2010

Rabbi Frand in one of his essays explains how fools find fault and the wise find the good. He illustrates this point with the following story. Rav Eliezer Silver who was known for having helped many displaced persons after the holocaust, bringing them back in to the fold of Judaism was one time visiting one of the displaced persons camp. There he met a man who had suffered for many years in the camps. The man told Rav Silver that never again will he daven. Never again will he even pick up a siddur. Why not asked Rav Silver? Because when we were in the camps there was only one Jew who a had a siddur. Did he let others pray in it? No! Not unless we paid him. Anyone who wanted to use the siddur had to give over half of his daily rations. That's crazy!! This man was running a business by taking rations from starving men. So I decided that if that is what religious Jews are like then I will never again open a siddur and pray. I want no part of it. Rav Silver then smiled and shook his head. I don't understand you. Why do you only look at the man who rented out his siddur? You should look at all the men who were willing to give up half there rations for the ability to pray out a siddur. This is really what Jews are like and you should be very proud to be one of them.

In life we should try our bests to look for the positives! Don't you enjoy everything better around positive people? Lets not be that negative person that nobody wants to be around...

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